Ingredients:

1. boil tortellini according to directions
2. coat broccoli in olive oil and seasoning of choice, then bake at 350 for ten minutes
3. then broil broccoli for twenty minutes, mixing the broccoli and turning them over after ten minutes
3. mix the tortellini and broccoli and extra melted butter and olive oil

A BIG HIT! Plus it’s versatile, you can add any veggie of your choice or mix a few together.

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

Say what? Roasted chicken in a slow cooker? No way! YES WAY! Other recipes called for putting a roasting rack in your slow cooker, I didn’t have one. Then I found THIS recipe from Family Fresh Meals. All I had to do was put 4 tin foil balls on the bottom of the slow cooker and put my chicken on top. SUPER EASY

The first thing I did was remove the chicken from its original bag, put in in my own freezer bag with olive oil, water, and seasoning of choice. Make sure you get seasoning in the chicken too. Then I popped it in the freezer. Days later when I decided to make it, I took it out of the freezer…the seasoning marinated into the chicken as it defrosted.

1. place four tin foil balls on bottom of slow cooker, pour 1/2 cup water in, and place chicken on top. (Rub on extra seasoning if you choose)
2. Turn on slow cooker to high for six hours
3. When chicken is done,, place in pan or cast iron skillet carefully, and broil for ten minutes on each side to make sure skin is crispy.

Directions Veggies and Couscous:

1. Cut potatoes and veggies, coat generously in oils and seasoning, place in oven and bake for ten minutes at 350 degrees.
2. Then broil veggies for another 10/15 minutes to preference. Make sure to turn over and mix veggies so both sides get equally broiled.
3. Boil couscous according to directions, add butter, olive oil and seasoning for flavor. (I buy it from the bulk section at Whole Foods and only get what I need for the week).

What a tasty and flavorful meal! So easy or a weekend, then you have leftovers for the week.

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

All recipes and meals are made with organic, real food and/or NON-GMO products.

Broccoli, Beans, and Rice

Rice meals are a big hit with AJ, because it’s versatile, hearty, and filling. The best part is they make great leftovers: quesadillas (shown below), add to soup, throw on nachos, mix into eggs for a great breakfast, or throw them in enchiladas.

1. Boil rice according to directions, add butter, olive oil and seasoning for flavor. (I buy it from the bulk section at Whole Foods and only get what I need for the week).
2. Then turn down heat and simmer rice, adding more seasoning and butter if you prefer.
3. Add 1/2 cup extra water and add canned (drained) beans and chopped broccoli4. Mix all the ingredients and cover to continue simmering5. Continue checking every ten minutes until all the water has been absorbed and rice is soft. Mix and fluff with fork. 6. Remove from heat and serve

Sprinkle cheese on top for extra flavor.

LEFTOVERS: Quesadillas

1. Place tortilla on heated cast iron skillet2. Layer shredded cheese, then the leftover rice, beans, and broccoli, then another layer of cheese3. Top with another tortilla. 4. After five minutes carefully flip over, the cheese will have melted all the ingredients into the tortilla. 5. Remove from heat when cooked, slice into sections and serve.

I can put anything in a quesadilla an AJ will eat it up.

How do you get your kids to eat leftovers?

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

Burgers, Fries, and Roasted Veggies

Ingredients:

1. mix veggies and potatoes (separately) in olive oil and seasoning
2. Place potatoes and veggies in separate pans and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then switch to boil to properly crisp them dry the oil. Instead of them being soggy they will be tasty and crispy!
3. grill the burgers to your liking. I prefer mine medium, while Tony prefers medium well.

AJ ate the smaller version of the burger, normally he HATES burgers. I explained that these smaller burgers are just for kids. It’s like eating a meatball in a sandwich. He believed every word and ate it up! (UPDATE) we tried to feed him a small burger this past weekend, and it was no-go. Him eating one was just a fluke!

The roasted veggies and fries were PERFECTION!

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

All recipes and meals are made with organic, real food and/or NON-GMO products.

AJ still an omnivore. You may notice me referring to Dino as AJ from now on. As he is getting older, I think its time my blog grew with him. While the name of this blog won’t change, his will. So why AJ? Well I feel it’s a bit older than Dino, close to his real name while allowing for continued anonymity.

Yes I am changing this format. Instead of posting all the meals I make in a week, I am going to feature one per post. It will save me time and allow me to share more with you. What do you think?

Raviolis and Green Beans in Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

1. boil raviolis in water with some butter and salt
2. bake seasoned green beans in oven until cooked but still a bit hard
3. mix together when all cooked, add butter and melted coconut oil
4. Serve and enjoy

AJ LOVED the meal especially when you can stuff your face with ravioli and make funny faces.

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

Tilapia Fillets, Stuffed Potatoes, and Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1. marinate in baggie with olive oil, water, and seasoning
2. Place on cast iron skillet when ready and sprinkle with some flour to give it that “fried” look
3. bake at 350 until fully cooked

Directions Potatoes:

1. place in clast iron skillet and cover, bake at 350 until full cooked
2. carefully cut in half when cooled, scoop out insides
3. mix scooped out potatoes with butter, milk, cheese, leeks, garlic, pre-cooked bacon, and seasoning of choice
4. scoop mixture back into each potato and cook for another five minutes

Directions Squash:

1. marinate with olive oil and coconut oil
2. cover with honey and cinnamon
3. bake at 350 until outsides are crispy….

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Pea and Ham Soup

Ingredients:

1. add water to bowl with seasoning of choice
2. place bone in pot
3. Then top with herbs and peas
4. Set at a boil, then simmer for one hour
5. Remove bone and cut off all meat and marrow and place back in soup
6. add couscous and veggies and simmer for another hour
7. Let cool and serve

Dino hasn’t had this as of yet…may have to freeze in smaller bags and serve last minute dinners…I LOVED IT THOUGH

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Easter

We used rubber bands to decorate our eggs…Yes we used plant and herb based dyes for our eggs! They came out pretty darn cool! Then Dino drew on them.

The Easter bunny did give him some chocolate, but it was organic NON-GMO mint truffles..he LOVES anything with mint. He also got money, markers, glo sticks, a key chain and LOTS of Legos. Of course all his grandparents got him Easter gifts too, but we can’t list everything!

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Meatballs and Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1. chop up garlic, onion, cauliflower
2. mix with egg, breadcrumbs, and ground beef and turkey
3. use olive oil to keep meat mixture from sticking to your hands
4. roll into balls and place on cast iron skillet
5. ****save some mixture and mold into small meatloaf****
6. bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until cooked

Serve with spaghetti and sauce!

Bake potatoes and broccoli with seasoning and serve with meatloaf

Dino LOVES LOVES LOVES meatballs and spaghetti

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

LINKING UP WITH:

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 12 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

My subject is

Spring time and you planted seeds, but instead of flowers ____ is growing in your yard!

I know I always say this, but I LOVE this prompt. So instead of flowers, I have a forever replenishing garden of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Not to worry, a greenhouse will grow overnight, so even in the winter, my garden will grow. What you think I’m delusional? Well, the prompt never said I had to stick to reality.

So back to my special garden. Yup, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, strawberries, blueberries, apples, lemons, bananas, parsley, oregano, chives, leeks, onions, garlic, are all growing in my yard. They replenish on their own and there is always enough for us when we need it! The catch? Well we have to share. We have to share the seeds with other neighbors so they can grow amazing gardens too! We have to share the spoils with those who don’t have gardens or can’t always get fresh food. We trade and fruits, vegetables, and herbs with those who have an abundance of eggs and meat.

What would this do to the supermarkets? What would this do to the food industry? Well more and more stores are carrying organic and/or NON-GMO verified products. It’s been a long time coming, we need to go back to organic, we need to be self-sufficient, we need to take back control of our food. If we all started growing gardens on our lawns, if we all started teaching children what “natural” really means we would be healthier nations. Natural is NOT a label on a fake cheese product or GMO-filled frozen foods. natural means untouched by greedy corporations and scientists with the agenda of making more money.

My ‘garden’ last year was just a few potted plants which was pretty sad, but I rent so I am limited. Don’t worry, this year, I plan on buying this raised bed garden from Improvements Catalog…click on the pic to see all the details. Pretty cool, right?

I have a homemade compost bin-it was pretty darn easy to make. Hubby helped me drill holes all around and on the bottom of the bin, we use bungees to keep the lid on top. There’s a huge layer of amazing soil on the bottom, that we often roll around to mix with new scraps. I’d show you what’s inside, but it’s pretty nasty, trust me soon it will all be amazing soil for my garden.

What can you put in a compost bin? Here’s a big list of things you REALLY can put in the compost.

In our kitchen I throw scraps in a jar then put them in our compost every few hours. Of course I need a better container for our kitchen, so I can keep the scraps in there a few days instead of emptying every few hours. Are you looking what’s in there? I have coffee grinds, a tea bag, food container, box, and carrot peels.

I know, I need to get off my soap box, but it’s annoying when we are the odd ones out because we don’t want the fake food or drinks. It’s annoying when I am made to feel like a bad mom because I don’t want my son eating what everyone else eats. I don’t want pesticides, antibiotics, and chemicals in his food. It’s annoying when real food costs more than the food created in a science lab. It’s annoying when wanting to eat real food is looked on as being weird, quirky, a fad, or annoying.

All recipes and meals are made with organic, real food and/or NON-GMO products.

Dino is still an omnivore…

Potatoes, Egg, and Cheese snack

Ingredients:

~ potatoes
~ cheese
~ eggs
~ spices

Directions:

1. slice potatoes and bake in oven until fully cooked2. pour raw scrambled eggs on top of baked potatoes (I mix my eggs with water and seasoning)3. cover and bake until eggs are fully cooked4. remove from oven and sprinkle shredded cheese on top

Makes for a great and filling snack

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Meatball and Spinach Pizza

Ingredients:

1. cook ground pork and turkey with seasonings
2. Set aside frozen fresh spinach
3. coat both sides of pizza breads with olive oil
4. spread on sauce and add meat on one and spinach on the other
5. then sprinkle cheese on top
6. let cool then serve

Who doesn’t love pizza?

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Meatballs and Pasta

Ingredients:

~ pasta and sauce
~ ground beef and pork made into meatballs

for sauce: puree spinach, leeks, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seasonings to get flavorful sauce to pour over meatballs while they bake

Directions:

1. cook pasta and meatballs as you would
2. mix together with sauce and serve

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Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and Potatoes

Ingredients:

1. marinate chicken for a few hours with honey, olive oil, water and seasonings of choice and herbs
2. bake chicken at 350 until fully cooked…keep cooked juices for gravy (miz with flour to get gravy)
3. season and bake potatoes and broccoli and serve with chciken

Not eaten yet…but all ready for hungry bellies

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

Dinner Ingredients:

1. mix meats, with seasoning, eggs, veggies and breadcrumbs
2. make into three small loafs and pour a little sauce over
3. bake at 350 until full cooked
4. remove and serve, pour remaining sauce over eat slice

Hubby was worried it would taste awful…but he wound of having seconds and Dino ate everything on his plate…EXCEPT the brussel sprouts.

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Gnocchi with Veggies

Ingredients:

1. saute seasoning, butter, olive oil and leeks
2. then add gnocchi and veggies
3. simmer on stove top until all cooked

This was so tasty and light…a BIG hit.

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I made pizza, but forgot to take pics of it. Yes, the pizza had meatballs on it, just like Dino wanted.

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

LINKING UP WITH:

All recipes and meals are made with organic, real food and/or NON-GMO products.

Now Dino is an omnivore again…excuse me while I try to stop my head from spinning.

Sighs…I think I may have overdid it with chicken dinners. So I’m going to only plan one chicken dinner, one meat dinner, the rest will be leftovers and vegetarian meals. Depending on money, I may throw in a fish meal.

Meatballs and Veggie Roll Lasagna

Ingredients:

1. lightly boil lasagna noodles until they are softened
2. at the same time mix seasoning, ricotta, 1 egg and half of the cheese
3. take one noodle out at a time, layer ricotta mix on top, then veggies
4. fold over twice, and place in cast iron skillet with a small amount of water
5. spread sauce on top
6. bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes
7. after removing from oven, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and let melt

1. pour some olive oil in a bowl to keep meet mixture from sticking to hands
2. mix ground beef and turkey with seasoning, egg, garlic, leeks, and breadcrumbs
2. roll meat mixture into balls and place on iron cast skillet
3. bake at 350 for about 30 minutes
4. let cool and eat

AS SOON AS DINO SAW THE MEATBALLS HE WANTED THEM. I guess his vegetarian diet is over. I will plan to have 1 meat, 1 chicken/fish dinner, the rest meatless and leftovers.

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Sweet Potato, Leek, and Pinto Bean Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1. cut sweet potato into small skinless cubes and place in oiled skillet
2. add seasoning and leeks
3. cover and bake at 350 for 20 min or until softened
4. uncover and add pinto beans and bake for another ten minutes
5. remove from oven, and mash potatoes until all flattened
6. in another skillet, place tortilla down
7. spread some cheese on one half, then the potato mixture, then more cheese
8. Fold over and repeat so you have two quesadillas cooking at the same time
9. Flip over when toasty on one side
10. Cut in half, eat, and enjoy

How can you beat cheesy, sweet, and savory?

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Baked Fried Chicken, cheesy potatoes and cauliflower

Ingredients:

1. marinate chicken in bag with seasoning of choice, olive oil, and water
2. cut potatoes into cubes with cauliflower, and garlic, cover and mix with seasoning, olive oil, and water
3. Place potatoes in cast iron skillet
4. Cover potatoes and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked
5. At the same time, get out flour and coat marinated chicken in flour and place on cast iron skillet
6. bake (uncovered) for about thirty minutes
7. remove potatoes, and sprinkle cheese on top
8. Then remove chicken and sprinkle cheese on top as well

A quick and easy meal…and yes Dino ate all his chicken.

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Easy Stove Top Rice, Beans, and Veggies

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Ingredients:

1. put water, onions, garlic, peppers, leeks, butter, olive oil, and seasoning in pot and boil
2. once boiled, add rice and stir
3. then turn down heat to simmer
4. once there is little water left, add the beans
5. stir all together and serve.

you can add feta or shredded cheese, extra veggies or meat to this meal…it’s beyond versatile. Dino has not eaten it yet. I made it and we will be having it for the next night.

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Polenta, Eggs, and Cheese

Ingredients:

1. in water add olive oil, butter, seasoning and boil
2. add polenta, boil, then let simmer
3. make two eggs, sunny side up
4. once polenta is cooked, scoop some into a bowl, top with egg and cheese and mix

it was a wonderful way to have eggs without the bread. Polenta is cheaper than bread and can be make into an porridge or then baked in the oven to make pizza crusts or bread…so versatile!

I made more eggs on the baked polenta, but didn’t get a picture of that. It was so delicious though.

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.